25 States Sue Trump Over Sec. 301 Tariffs, Say They Are a Sham

A 25-state coalition sued the Trump Administration, challenging its decision to impose tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on 60 trading partners it accused of failing to prevent goods made with forced labor form entering the U.S.

The plaintiffs say the levies were imposed under the “guise of combating forced labor in global trade” and should be ruled unlawful, with refunds made to the states.

“The Tariff Action is arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law,” the suit says, adding that “the Administration cannot use forced labor as a pretext to continue its illegal tariff scheme.”

The lawsuit say tge U.S. Trade Representative imposed the Sec. 301 tariffs without linking the rates to the alleged prevalence of forced-labor-tainted goods in each economy and did not respond to comments and testimony that undercut its rationale.

“In short, there is no rational fit between the purported problem of forced labor in international supply chains and the blanket global tariffs the USTR imposed,” the suit says.

The USTR provided no way for an accused economy to escape the levies through remedial action, it said.